The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for cutting dough products; and more particularly, relates to an assembly line apparatus capable of cutting relatively thin pieces from a continuous "rope" of dough. Although one particular preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which the apparatus comprises a generally spiral-shaped blade having a segmented, angled blade edge for cutting soft dough products, is described herein, it should be readily apparent that the method and apparatus of the present invention may also be used in other cutting applications.
Selection of a cutting tool for a particular application often depends upon a number of factors. In the case of a dough product, these factors may include, for example, the relative hardness of the dough to be cut; dough temperature and consistency; the presence of filling materials within the dough; and the desired thickness for the pieces to be cut. Numerous systems for cutting dough products are generally known. Such systems include waterjet cutters, guillotine-type knife cutters, band-saw cutters, etc. However, each of those cutting systems have significant drawbacks when it comes to soft dough cutting applications, particularly those involved in assembly line operations.
Waterjet cutters, for example, tend to work better in warm dough applications in which the dough temperature exceeds 65.degree. F., than in cool dough applications in which the dough temperature is below 45.degree. F. A waterjet cutter also tends to be extremely noisy during operation, and typically generates an undesirable waste stream. Further, it has been found that a waterjet cutter typically is of limited value in cutting applications involving dough containing certain filler materials. In particular, a waterjet cutter typically cannot cut through raisins, and although it can cut through nuts, the waterjet has a tendency to throw nuts out of the dough material instead. Further, in cutting soft dough products such as cinnamon or jelly rolls, it is desirable that any cut be executed cleanly so as not to smear the filling material across the cut surface. Waterjet cutters tend to smear such filling materials and thus have an undesired adverse impact on the overall appearance of the dough slices.
Bladed cutters can be used in a wider range of both warm and cool dough applications than waterjet cutters, with knives in particular tending to cut better in cold dough applications. Typically, slices greater than 0.75 inches thick can be cut from up to a four inch diameter dough rope with the use of a guillotine-type knife cutter. To enhance the attractiveness of the product slice, it is preferable that the cutting apparatus not deform the typically round or spheroidal shape of the dough product during a cut. However, a guillotine cutter naturally has a tendency to pinch the dough and to deform the product slices. Deformation occurs because the knife edge presses down hard on the product until the product fails under the contact. Thus, to make thinner dough slices (0.75 inches or less), the typical guillotine-type cutter does not work well. The pressure applied on the product slice tends to destroy its shape, i.e. crushing the slice because of its relatively thin size.
Saw-like cutters also have been used in some dough-cutting applications. However, they too tend to exhibit undesirable characteristics when used in soft dough applications. For example, soft dough is often sticky, and it tends to adhere to the back of the cutting blade as it moves through the product. Further, instead of cutting the dough, the saw-like cutter tends to pull dough from its path, deforming the dough product and slices in the process. Although these undesirable effects can be reduced somewhat by lubricating and cleaning the cutting blade with oils, an improved cutting apparatus and method which reduces or eliminates the need for such measures clearly would be preferable.